After Mark Webber posted a 1:22.544 to claim the best time on Tuesday, Vettel kept the defending Champions atop the timesheets with a 1:21.865 - the quickest time in pre-season testing so far.The 2010 World Champ posted his time inside the first two hours of testing under cloudy skies at the Circuit de Catalunya and no one was able to knock him off his perch for the rest of the session and he spent the bulk of the afternoon doing long runs.
Red Bull's sister car, Toro Rosso, was second fastest with Sebastien Buemi 0.531 off Vettel's pace. It was a big improvement for Buemi after he found himself more than three seconds off the pace on Tuesday after mechanical problems.
Vitaly Petrov, who was second on day one, had another encouraging display with a 1:22.670.
The big story of the day though was McLaren's problems. Although Lewis Hamilton managed to post a 1:22.888 late in the day, his morning was session was blighted with problems. Most of the other drivers completed more than 100 laps, but Hamilton could only manage 57 laps due to a hydraulics leak and an exhaust failure.
Felipe Massa, whose Ferrari sported a new aerodynamic package that included a new layout of the exhausts, completed the top five with a 1:23.324. He was followed by Force India's Paul di Resta and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi who were both more than two seconds off Vettel's pace.
Mercedes also tested a new exhaust system and Nico Rosberg was eighth with a 1:25.807. Birthday boy Pastor Maldonado could only manage 29 laps on Wednesday following a problem with his KERS early in the session.
Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:21.865 112 laps
02. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:22.396 + 0.531 120 laps
03. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.670 + 0.805 116 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:22.888 + 1.023 57 laps
05. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:23.324 + 1.459 101 laps
06. Paul di Resta Force India 1:24.334 + 2.469 118 laps
07. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:24.436 2.571 107 laps
08. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.807 + 3.942 100 laps
09. Jarno Trulli Lotus 1:26.090 + 4.225 98 laps
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:26.989 + 5.124 29 laps
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1:28.982 + 7.117 64 laps
Source: Planet-F1
